In Your Place
by mohammed.mehdi.96
Summary: When Pegasus decides to take the soul of Joey Wheeler instead of Solomon Muto, it causes a ripple effect that changes the fate of all. With Tristan having to learn to duel to help his best friend fulfill his wish for his sisters eye operation and Yugi gaining more insight into his millennium puzzle, can things be set right once more.


Chapter 1: It's Time to Duel

One mere decision! That's all it takes to change the course of your life, and possibly, even of those around you. At present, the silver headed Maximillion Pegasus was facing off against his spiky haired opponent, Yugi Muto. Their match transpiring in a seemingly endless abyss of darkness due to the power Pegasus wielded in his Millennium eye; a magical artifact that gave him infinite power. Its effects obvious, just from their duel. Yugi was down to 400 life points and Pegasus had 1200. There has to be something I can do. Yugi racked his brain, trying to find something that might help him win. His eyes widened as the simple answer hit him. That's it! His Illusionist Faceless Mage is completely defenseless; I can destroy it and take out the rest of his life points! "Okay, Pegasus. take this!" Yugi smirked. "I call forth my Summoned Skull!" (2500 Attack/1200 Defense)* Seemingly out of thin air, a chalky white skeleton having dark wings appeared on Yugi's side of the field. "This is it! Summoned Skull, Lightning strike…." "TIMES UP!" Pegasus said, grinning victoriously. "Aw, what a shame, Yugi boy. If that attack had worked, my life points would have been reduced to a zero! Fortunately for me and of course, unfortunately for you, luck wasn't on your side. Now it's time for me to claim my prize."

Pegasus's Millennium eye shone brilliantly. The light blinding Yugi as a surge of energy shot forth, out of the TV. As soon as Yugi regained his eyesight, he was horror-struck. His friend, Joey was enveloped in the golden light and it appeared as though his soul was being forced out of his body. "JOEY!" The spiky haired boy screamed in terror as it floated towards and into the TV. Joey's agony filled screams thundered against Yugi's ears as he tried to free his friend, shaking the screen as grief overcame him. Seeing his efforts were in vain brought tears to his eyes. It was his fault that this had happened. He should have triumphed but he didn't. He failed his best friend. And now he was gone. No matter what he did, nothing could bring him back. Yugi rubbed at the wetness filling his was there? Maybe there was something he could do. Maybe he could bring Joey back. His vision cleared as an idea came to his mind and he walked over to where his friend lay unconscious, picking up the box the video came in. It had two cards. One card with a picture of gold and all sorts of treasure, while the other was completely blank with only a white background glaring into his eyes reminding him of Pegasus and his hair. Oh, how he hated him. He didn't understand what these cards meant but he remembered Pegasus talking about a duel monsters' tournament he was hosting on his island. Yugi was sure that these things would be important in getting his friends soul back.

Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by the groaning behind him, his friends had finally started to wake up. "What happened…?" Said the teen with brown hair that spiked in the front, he was wearing a long brown coat over a white shirt and was still trying to compose himself.

"I don't know how to explain it Tristan..." it was the truth, It had happened so fast and Yugi didn't completely understand what had happened. It was obviously the work of that Millennium Eye that Pegasus wore. "All I can say is that Pegasus took me this place called the Shadow Realm and challenged me to a duel. He won and took Joey's soul in order to bait me to enter his duel monsters tournament."

Tristan could've believe what he was hearing, it sounded unreal and if he didn't know Yugi for so long to know he wouldn't lie, he would never have believed it. "This is terrible, Joey was planning to enter that tournament in order to claim the three million dollars for his sisters operation, honestly I didn't expect him to last very long anyways but at least he stood a chance before, now he can't even compete." This definitely was a dilemma, everyone knew that Joey's sister Serenity needed that eye operation as soon as possible or else she would be permanently blind. Nobody deserved the fate that destiny had bestowed Joey and Serenity, That's why Tristan made a decision. "I'll go in joeys place and win the prize money; I can't just stand by and let him down."

Yugi was going to protest but he saw the look in Tristan's eyes, they had a fire in them that he had never seen before. He knew that Joey and him were like brothers and were loyal to one another; there was no way he would convince him to step down.

"There's just one problem, you don't really know how to duel." Said a soft voice. It was Tea Gardner; she had finally woken up along with Yugi's grandfather Solomon Muto. The young girl was tall with dark brown hair and blue eyes; she wore a pink coat over a white oxford shirt with a blue tie and a blue pleated skirt. The spiky haired youth had to admit Tea did raise a good point; Tristan had even less dueling experience than Joey and had very little time to improve. Along with that, he himself had been dueling for as long as he could remember and was still treated like a child against Pegasus, how could an inexperienced duelist fare any better. "Grandpa, do you think you could take Tristan as your pupil until the duelist kingdom tournament starts, I think he and I could use all the practice we can get for what's ahead of us.

"Of course I can, we can't just let this man do as he pleases. He holds a great deal of power and needs to be stopped before he really does anything dangerous with it. I may not be able to stand up to him but I can at least help you whippersnappers in any way I can." Yugi smiled. His grandfather always knew just what to say, he wasn't sure what he would have done if Pegasus had taken him away instead of Joey, the old man had been through enough after Kaiba beat him in a duel and took his most precious card, ripping it in half just so it could never be used again. it angered Yugi that there were so many power hungry people in the world that only thought about themselves, he swore to never be like them and that he would save his friend no matter what.

Later that day…..

"There Tristan, your deck is complete!" Yugi said smiling and handing his friend his cards.

"Thanks dude, I really appreciate it, hopefully it'll be enough to get me far in the duelist kingdom tournament."

"Remember Tristan, it's not only a good deck that'll guarantee victory in the tournament, it's playing your cards well and believing in the heart of the cards that are most important."

"I know, hey how about we have a practice duel to test our skills and get ready for tomorrow?"

"Okay why not!"

Both players sat down on by the school table shuffling their decks. Most of the time it was Yugi and Joey who sat there duking it out. While usually Yugi was the victor, the yellow haired boy had been improving over the months since Kaiba was defeated but with his mind trapped in the shadow realm, it was Tristan's responsibility to fill his shoes.

"Okay I'll start things off!" Tristan said with enthusiasm. He had really grown to like duel monsters these days and he was ready to show what he had learned. "I summon my Cyber Falcon In attack mode! (1400 attack/1200 defense) Then I end my turn."

Yugi smirked. "Not bad Tristan, now let's see what I can do….I summon a monster in defense mode and place one card face down then end my turn there.

"That's all? You can't expect to win like that. I attack with Cyber Falcon!"  
"sorry Tristan, you attacked my Beaver warrior and he has more defense points than your monsters attack points so you lose 100 life points." (1200/1500)

Yugi 2000

Tristan 1900

"Damn fine, I end my turn."

"Okay now let me show you how it's done. I switch my Beaver Warrior to attack mode."

"What? Your monster is weaker than my one Yugi."

"For now it is, but not after this; I activate my face down card, Horn of the Unicorn. This raises my monsters attack power by 700 points, bringing it up to a grand total of 1900; more than enough to destroy your Cyber Falcon. Speaking of which, I attack!"

"ughhhh…"

Tristan: 1400

Yugi: 2000

'Man Yugi is good, what am I going to do.' "Okay I draw!" 'His monster is too strong for anything I have but maybe I can still destroy it…' "I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

'Hmm, he's up to something.' "I attack your monster with Beaver Warrior!"

"You fell for my steel scorpion! (250/300) when he's attacked by a non machine monster, it destroys the attacking monster during your 3rd end phase." Tristan smirked, his plan was working.

"Nice move there, I'll end my turn." Yugi smiled warmheartedly at his opponent, this was becoming fun.

"I set another monster and end my turn." Tristan said passively. He obviously wasn't interested in making a move until Beaver Warrior was destroyed. Yugi knew he had to get him to attack or he wouldn't be able to do any damage.

"I summon my Horn Imp in attack mode! (1300/1000) Next I place one card facedown and attack with Beaver Warrior!"

"You destroyed my Cyber Commander but it's been two end phases, one more and your beaver will be toast. Now it's my turn. I summon Guardian of the throne room! (1650/1600) and then I'll equip him with Machine Conversion Factory, raising its attack and defense by 300 points. (1950/1900) now I attack Horned Imp!"

"Not so fast, I activate my Spell Binding Circle! This will ensnare your Guardian in a weakening magic that prevents it from attacking or switching its battle position, it also lowers the attack power of your creature by 700 points." (1250/1900) Now I believe it's my turn and I'm summoning my Gaia the Fierce Knight! (2300/2100) I attack!

Tristan: 350

Yugi: 2000

It's your 3rd end phase so Beaver Warrior is destroyed. Tristan was drooping, obviously running out of confidence but not completely out yet based on the look in his eyes. 'Come on deck, don't fail me now' Tristan drew his card and gave a sideways glance at it. "I activate my polymerization, fusing my Giga Tech Wolf and Cannon Soldier in order to create my Labyrinth Tank! (2400/2400) then I end my turn.

'That's a very powerful monster, I need to destroy it fast but nothing I have can do it.' "I switch my Gaia the Fierce Knight and Horned Imp to defense mode and end my turn."

"That's more like it! I Attack your Gaia and end my turn."

"I'll draw and end my turn there." Yugi said begrudgingly.

"Then I'll draw and attack the Horned Imp then end my turn.

"It's about time I put an end to your Labyrinth Tank once and for all. I activate my Monster Reborn, using its mythical power to revive one monster from either player's graveyard. I revive my Fierce Knight. Furthermore, I activate my spell card Polymerization; just like you I fuse my Gaia and Curse of Dragon to summon my Gaia the Dragon Champion! (2600/2100) and then I end my turn."

"I activate another Machine Conversion Factory, boosting my monsters attack and defense power by 300 points!"(2700/2700) and attack your Dragon Champion, destroying it!"

Tristan: 350

Yugi: 1900

'This is going to be tougher than I thought, if only I had Exodia but grandpa told me I have to learn to rely on my other cards in case Exodia failed me.' "Okay I draw! I summon my Dark Magician in attack mode and set one more card face down then end my turn."

'Yugi must be up to something if he played a weaker monster like that in attack mode but I can't afford to leave it on the field to possibly get stronger and overpower my tank, I have to attack…' "Okay Yugi, I attack your Dark Magician."

"Not so fast Tristan, I activate my set card Magical Hats; this card protects my Dark Magician in one of four hats, you have a choice to attack any one of them but you might just miss. Choose wisely."

"Not like I have a choice do I? I attack the one on the far left."

"I'm afraid you picked an empty hat, so now it's my turn. I draw! Now I activate my Book of Secret arts, enhancing Dark Magician by 300 attack and defense points. (2800/2400) Now say goodbye to your Tank, dark magic attack!"

Tristan: 250

Yugi: 1900

"I haven't lost yet Yugi, I'm far from it! Time to take a gamble, I summon my Time Wizard! (500/500) Now I use it's time warping magic to hopefully destroy Dark Magician and deal damage to you equal to half its attack points. Now let's do it!

Tristan flipped his coin and unfortunately got tails.

"Tristan, your coin toss was tails meaning Time Wizard is destroyed and you take damage equal to half its attack power."

Tristan: 0  
Yugi: 1900

Tristan face palmed himself. "How could I have messed that up? I need to do better if I'm going to win the tournament!" he said angrily.

"You did fine; In fact you almost had me there with Labyrinth Tank and Time Wizard, but you have to remember that card requires a lot of luck in order to work so you should only use it as a last resort."

"You mean like having your strongest monster slaughtered and being cornered to a sliver of life points?" Tristan sighed and rolled his eyes, getting up and walking out the room leaving Tea and Yugi.

The brown haired girl frowned. "He's too hard on himself, I wish there was something we could do to help build his confidence and show him how much he's improved since you guys started."

"He knows just how much he's improved, the problem lies in the fact that it isn't enough and the tournament starts tomorrow. If only we had a little more time…" Yugi grabbed his bag and walked out the door deep in thought about not only his friend but also wondering how he would deal with the power that Pegasus held. He had made many improvements lately with his grandfather's assistance but that didn't change the fact that he was up against the creator of Duel Monsters and someone with psychic like abilities. 'Grandpa said I had to tap into the power of my Millennium Puzzle if I want to win but I don't understand a thing about it outside of the fact that whenever I duel someone really good, it shines a light just like Pegasus's Eye and then I feel like another conscious is intertwined in my own, guiding me to victory like a guardian angel watching over me, making sure I make the right choice. I feel more powerful and courageous in those times, like I could do anything if I put my mind to it. A feeling I wish was present more often, maybe then I would have more friends instead of being picked on by all the school bullies for my height or for being labeled a nerd.'

_Meanwhile in Duelist Kingdom…._

" everything you asked for has been set." Said a grey haired man with sunglasses and a suit.

Pegasus drank his wine and smiled deviously. "Excellent, so the game begins."


End file.
